Firm bets on data to transform outdoor advertising

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of GRAZA Media, Zacchaeus Akinadewo. Photo: GRAZA Media

GRAZA Media Limited is betting on technology, data and audience intelligence to reshape the Out-of-Home advertising industry as advertisers increasingly demand measurable evidence of audience reach, engagement and returns on media investment.

The Abuja-based outdoor advertising firm said in a statement that it was moving beyond conventional reliance on billboards and physical visibility to deploy technology and data to help brands understand the value and performance of their campaigns.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of GRAZA Media, Zacchaeus Akinadewo, disclosed this at the company’s 10th anniversary event in Abuja, held under the theme, “GRAZA at 10 — The Next Decade Starts With Us.”

Akinadewo said the changing demands of advertisers required outdoor media companies to build stronger capabilities in data, measurement, technology and audience intelligence.

“The market has changed. Advertisers are asking better questions. They want more than a location. They want to understand audiences, demonstrate value and make smarter decisions. GRAZA must be capable of answering those questions,” he said.

He said the company would strengthen its use of technology, digital and dynamic Out-of-Home formats, campaign reporting and audience measurement to make outdoor advertising more intelligent and accountable.

“We do not want to be defined simply by the number of structures we own or operate. We want to be defined by the value we create around those structures. Our ambition is to make visibility more intelligent, more measurable and more useful to the brands we serve,” Akinadewo said.

According to the firm, the shift reflects a broader change in the advertising market, where brands increasingly want data to establish how many people their campaigns reach, how audiences engage with them and what returns they generate.

Akinadewo said GRAZA’s next phase would therefore move the company from selling physical advertising space towards providing intelligence that could help clients make better media decisions.

“A billboard is a product. A location is an asset. An audience is an opportunity. Attention is value. Intelligence creates advantage,” he said.

He said GRAZA had spent its first decade building a credible outdoor advertising business but would use its second decade to develop technology and data capabilities that could strengthen its competitive position.

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“Ten years ago, the opportunity was to build a credible outdoor advertising company. We have done that. The question before us now is much bigger: what should GRAZA become over the next ten years?” he said.

The company also plans to develop proprietary industry insights on audience behaviour and contribute to conversations around the future of Out-of-Home advertising in Abuja and Nigeria.

“We want GRAZA to have something meaningful to say about this industry. We want our clients, colleagues and competitors to associate our name not only with outdoor media, but with ideas, evidence and a deeper understanding of audiences,” Akinadewo said.

He said technology alone would not deliver the company’s ambitions, noting that its employees and client relationships would remain critical to executing its strategy.

“The employee is also the brand. A logo does not answer the phone. A billboard does not manage a relationship. People do,” Akinadewo said.

GRAZA has set an ambition to become one of the top five Brand Visibility and Audience Intelligence firms in Abuja, with investments in infrastructure, technology, people, client relationships and measurable performance.

Akinadewo said the company would have to demonstrate the value of its technology-driven approach through actual results rather than positioning.

“This is not a slogan for us. If we claim that position, we must earn it. Clients must experience the difference. Our people must demonstrate the difference. Our data must demonstrate the difference. Our reporting must demonstrate the difference,” he said.

He said the company was already looking towards 2036, when it expects to mark its 20th anniversary, by identifying the capabilities it must develop during its second decade.

“We are deliberately asking ourselves what we want the headline to be when GRAZA turns 20. We want to build a business today that makes that future headline believable,” Akinadewo said.